


perhaps you noticed something strange yesterday

by ObscureReference



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Pre-Game(s), Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 09:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10303148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObscureReference/pseuds/ObscureReference
Summary: “Has Noctis ever scared you?” Ignis asked.Prompto froze.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Uhhh, I don't really know how to tag this, so anyone is free to suggest something and I'll add it if I feel it's appropriate. For the record, there's no real violence or anything here. Definitely not anything worse than in-game. I'm not sure if any warnings really apply. Possessive behavior, maybe? But it's pretty light.
> 
> Just. Sometimes Noctis can be scary. In general.
> 
> Title from: "Perhaps you noticed something strange yesterday. And perhaps you have forgotten it." -- Cecil Palmer, ‘Welcome to Night Vale’, Ep. 33 - Cassette
> 
> Perhaps you did forget it. Perhaps you didn't.

_“Wow,” Prompto said in awe. He had never seen someone swordfight up close. “They’re so_ intense _.”_

_Gladio was swinging around a sword that was almost as big as his own body. And Gladio was a big guy. Prompto wasn’t even sure he could pick a broadsword off the ground._

_Noctis, for his part, was responding with fervor. He fought quick and low, attempting to breach Gladio’s impenetrable defense and then warping away when he needed some distance. Occasionally there was a flash of blue and white that indicated Noctis had pulled a new weapon out of thin air, but for the most part he kept to his regular sword._

_Ignis chuckled. “Quite. I take is this is your first time watching His Highness in action?_

_“Definitely,” Prompto said. He couldn’t tear his eyes away. “They’re something else.”_

_“Indeed,” Ignis agreed, watching Noctis roll out of the way of Gladio’s swing. “They can be quite fierce.”_

_“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, though.” He shifted his weight. The more Prompto thought about it, the more it seemed to fit. After all, “Noct can be pretty scary sometimes.”_

_Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ignis turn._

_“Prompto?”_

_Prompto hummed in response, unable to tear his eyes away from the fight. His heart clenched as the broadsword came down. He only relaxed when Noctis cleared the blow without injury._

_“Has Noctis ever scared you?” Ignis asked._

_Prompto froze._

 

 

 

Once, a guy at school had grabbed him. Just once.

He said something about Prompto looking like a punk right before he did. He was an upperclassmen, and it had been in the early days of Prompto’s friendship with Noctis. The guy either didn’t know he was friends with the prince or he didn’t care. Either way, he grabbed Prompto and dragged him behind the school.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Prompto said, stumbling over his own feet in an effort to stay upright as the guy held him by the collar. Prompto held up his hands, trying to look as defenseless as possible. “We can talk about this!”

The guy sneered. “There’s nothing to—”

That was all he’d been able to say because in that same moment Noctis came flying out of nowhere— _warp strike_ , Prompto later realized—and punched the guy right in the jaw. The upperclassman went down like a block of concrete. Lifeless.

Prompto stood there, a statue. Noctis stood in front of him, fist still raised, eyes wild. His shirt and collar were askew, and Prompto didn’t know if Noctis had untucked his uniform because school was over or if he had simply been that fast.

Prompto looked down. The upperclassmen still lay crumpled on the ground.

He looked up again as Noctis grabbed his shoulders. Even through his uniform jacket, Noctis’ fingers dug into Prompto’s skin so hard it almost hurt.

For a second he thought Noctis was going to hit him too. But then Noctis didn’t and Prompto chastised himself for the thought even crossing his mind. Noctis was his _friend_. He wouldn’t hurt Prompto.

(Even if he had the kind of wild look in his eyes that made Prompto want to back away.)

“Are you okay?” Noctis asked. Really, it was more like a demand. But Prompto felt better if he pretended it was “asked.”

“I’m fine,” he said. He looked down. “Is he—“

“Doesn’t matter.”

Prompto thought it did matter, actually, but no one else was around and Noctis turned Prompto’s face back up so he could scan it for any sign of injury. When the prince found none, he dropped Prompto’s shoulders and backed off. But only slightly.

“Let’s go,” Noctis said, grabbing Prompto’s arm. He turned heel. “I’m walking you home.”

Prompto let himself be tugged away. He felt guilty over the guy who had been knocked out, who was now presumably going to lay on the grass until he woke up with a sizable lump on his head, but he wasn’t sure what else he was supposed to do. He didn’t want Noctis to be in trouble.

“Isn’t someone picking you up?”

Someone always whisked Noctis away after school, but Noctis shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”

Again, Prompto thought it actually mattered more than Noctis wanted to admit, but he let it go.  

The walk home was weirdly tense, and they were halfway to Noctis’ apartment before Prompto realized that’s where they were going. Noctis got a call as he let Prompto inside, and he had a terse conversation with whoever was on the other end while Prompto kicked off his shoes and searched for somewhere to drop off his bag. After Noctis hung up, he glowered like he was in an even worse mood than when they had first left the school.

Prompto shifted awkwardly.

“Thanks for saving me earlier,” he said, unsure of what else to say. “I probably would have had my ass handed to me if you hadn’t shown up.”

Noctis blinked slowly, like he was just remembering Prompto was there.

“Of course,” Noctis said. Some of the tension left his shoulders and he held up his phone. “Want to play King’s Knight?”

Now this was familiar territory. “Absolutely.”

Noctis was calmer after a few rounds of the game, but he still sat weirdly close to Prompto the rest of the day. He was reluctant to let Prompto go home that evening too. Prompto chalked it up to guilt.

The next day it was like nothing had ever happened, and Prompto nearly forgot about it.

(Nearly.)

 

 

 

Sometimes, Noctis almost looked like he had rubies for eyes.

It wasn’t something Prompto ever really put thought into because, honestly, people didn’t have red eyes. Not even Noctis, with his magic royal blood. Prompto didn’t really know how magic worked, but he was pretty sure throwing ice bombs and warping didn’t change the color of your eyes.

Probably.

It didn’t even matter if magic did work like that because Prompto didn’t even _think_ about it that much.

It was just.

Prompto had spent the night at Noctis’ once, which wasn’t weird. And he had woken up in the night because he had trouble sleeping. Prompto had trouble sleeping most nights. That wasn’t weird either. He and Noctis had been sharing the bed, which was fine because it was a big bed, but Prompto had awoken to find Noctis’ side empty. Which was a _little_ weird.

At first Prompto had just thought Noctis had gotten up to pee or whatever, but then he saw Noctis sitting in the window, looking out onto the street. Prompto had opened his mouth to ask what was up, but Noctis must have sensed the movement, and when he turned—

Well.

His eyes hadn’t been _red_ , of course. Nobody’s eyes were red. It had been a trick of the light. He had slid back into bed with Prompto like it was nothing. It _was_ nothing.

Prompto just… hadn’t forgotten about it.

(And the next time it happened, he told himself that was a trick of the light too.)

(Sometimes Noctis’ eyes looked red like rubies, like roses, like bloo—

Anyway, Noctis didn’t have red eyes.

He didn’t.)

 

 

 

“If anyone ever tried to take you away,” Noctis said earnestly the day Prompto showed him the barcode on his wrist and the fear in his heart. “I would murder them.”

(Prompto had never forgotten how sincere Noctis had sounded when he said he’d kill a man.)

~~(In a way, it was comforting.)~~

 

 

 

It was never anything large. Just small things. Little moments. Nothing big enough for Prompto to worry over. Things that only ever happened once.

Just once.

(But once was enough.)

 

 

_“Prompto?” Ignis repeated._

_Prompto realized he had been silent for too long. “Yeah?”_

_“I asked you,” Ignis said slowly, his eyes scanning Prompto’s face. “if Noctis had ever frightened you.”_

_“No,” Prompto said. “No, never. I don’t know why I said that.”_

_Ignis looked at him. Prompto heard his heartbeat in his ears._

_“Prompto, you can tell me—“_

_“Prom!”_

_The fighting had stopped. Prompto hadn’t even realized. Suddenly Noctis—sweaty, panting Noctis, whose shirt clung to his skin—was standing in front of him, stepping into his space. His fingers curled loosely around Prompto’s bicep. A bead of sweat dripped down his neck._

_“What’s up?” Prompto said. He didn’t back away._

_“Is Ignis bugging you?” Noctis asked, his eyes flicking over his shoulder to glance at his advisor. Off in the distance, Gladio was reaching for a water bottle. Ignis stood to the side, watching their interaction with hawk eyes._

_Noctis looked at Prompto. “I can tell him to stop.”_

_“What, Ignis?” Prompto shook his head. “No_ way _, we were just talking. Honest.”_

_Noctis hesitated. His hand was still on Prompto’s arm._

_“Hey,” Prompto said, leaning forward. “I can’t believe you’ve been hiding your cool battle skills all this time.”_

_The corner of Noctis’ mouth curled up, pleased. “Oh, really?”_

_“Totally. You’re like a video game character.”_

_“Yeah?” There was laughter in Noctis’ voice. “Does that make you my sidekick?”_

_“I’d prefer to think of myself as your moral support. You can’t go on without me.”_

_Noctis rolled his eyes. “In your dreams.”_

_There was the crinkle of plastic as Gladio crushed the now empty water bottle in his hand. He tossed it off to the side, grabbed a second bottle, and began walking across the room, presumably to offer it to the sweaty prince. Ignis was still watching them._

_None of this escaped Noctis’ attention. He threw an arm around Prompto’s shoulders and led him towards the door. Prompto could feel the dampness of his clothes._

_“Why don’t we get something to eat?” Noctis said._

_Prompto poked him in the side. “You need a shower.”_

_“You saying I smell?”_

_“If you do, it’s not a good smell.”_

_Noctis flicked Prompto’s ear. “Fine, I’ll shower. Then we’ll eat.”_

_Noctis would probably nap later, Prompto knew. He distantly heard Gladio ask Ignis where they were going._

_“I’ll get you something to drink,” Prompto offered. Noctis hummed._

_Prompto swore he could still feel Ignis’ eyes on them as they left._

**Author's Note:**

> "yeah, noct is pretty scary sometimes. he could murder someone if he wanted to. i know he could. i think he might, eventually. but. he's my friend and i love him, you know?" -- Prompto at some point in this AU, probably
> 
> I heard a rumor once that Noctis' eyes were supposed to turn red every time night fell, but they dropped it later in development. His eyes turn red during summons, but I originally heard it was supposed to last all night. I have no way of knowing if that's true or not. But still. That's a little 2pooky, isn't it?
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment below or hit me up on my [tumblr!](http://someobscurereference.tumblr.com/)


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